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Your 2025 playbook for AI-powered cross-channel brand visibility

April 8, 2025/0 Comments/in Search Engine Land, Web Design News/by

Search Engine Land - Fractl Agents Header

AI is changing how people find and engage with content – but the core signals that drive visibility haven’t changed.

This article shows how search marketers can stay competitive by combining proven SEO and content strategies with AI-powered workflows to build authority, trust, and reach across platforms.

Why authority still wins in the age of AI search

If you work in marketing, you’ve probably heard the same questions repeated throughout the past year:

“What’s AI’s impact on organic search?”
“How can my brand appear in AI-driven search results?”
“Is it safe to use AI in my content workflow?”

While many agencies and experts are rushing to stake a claim in the new frontier of “AI brand visibility,” industry leaders are aligning around the idea that search engine and AI optimization rely on similar signals.

Whether you’re using Google or ChatGPT, both platforms strive to surface the most authoritative, relevant content on a given subject.

They do this by identifying which entities (brands or sources) have provided robust subject matter expertise (contextual relevance) backed by strong third-party authority signals (e.g., citations from trusted sources).

In other words, the fundamentals that make your content rank highly on Google – expertise, authority, and trustworthiness – also increase your visibility in AI-generated answers.

If you’ve paid attention to effective content marketing strategies over the last decade, keep creating unique, valuable, educational, and engaging brand content enriched with proprietary data and expert insights.

This approach:

Builds credibility and provides fresh expertise beyond what AI alone can produce, which all channels seek to surface.
Earns coverage and citations from authoritative sources across diverse platforms.
Strengthens your brand’s authority, diversifies visibility, and drives qualified traffic and cross-channel conversions.

Meanwhile, if you’re simply using ChatGPT to churn out regurgitated content for top-funnel informational queries – you might as well burn your marketing budget.

In 2025, it’s critical not to get lost in another “SEO is dead, long live […AI]!” echo chamber.

We’re 14 years into this recurring, sensationalized industry news cycle, yet search interest is still growing.

If we slow down and look at the facts, Google now processes over 5 trillion searches per year (with a 20%+ YoY growth).

AI tools like ChatGPT are expanding search behavior, not replacing it.

Up to 70% of ChatGPT prompts involve collaborative, custom tasks like code debugging or meal planning, per a recent Semrush study.

These are things classic search wasn’t built for.

Regardless of what we dub this era of “AI optimization,” one thing remains true: the value of cross-channel, inbound marketing reigns supreme, as it has since the dawn of digital.

While we don’t always need a new industry buzzword, generative engine optimization (GEO) has grown in interest significantly over the last 12 months.

Agency goliaths are starting to invest in their own content strategies around it.

Generative engine optimization - Google Trends

Most brand channels rely on similar ranking principles.

So, instead of panicking about the latest platform shifts, challenge your team to pause and reflect.

How do you use AI to scale effective, cross-channel marketing strategies and workflows to sustain your brand’s visibility?

Specifically:

How are we building content ecosystems that establish topic authority while earning trust and driving engagement across multiple platforms?
Have we done audience research to understand where our target market resides, and are we effectively using AI to scale cross-channel content syndication to those platforms?
Where else should we seek to apply AI to automate our proven marketing workflows to improve efficiency, reach, and ROI?

Here’s how my agency uses prompt engineering, custom GPTs, and proprietary AI agents to streamline digital marketing – and how your team can, too.

1. Using AI to create newsworthy campaigns with strong E-E-A-T

One of the highest ROI activities your brand can invest in now is proprietary research that produces insights AI can’t replicate.

This type of content gets cited by publishers, builds domain expertise, and increases your chances of influencing AI training data itself.

You don’t need to build bleeding-edge agentic workflows to see real impact from AI in your marketing.

Even teaching your team simple prompt engineering and having them build custom GPTs can help streamline your workflows.

AI can handle tedious tasks – like deep research and data analysis – so your team can spend more time on strategy and creative thinking.

Below are a few examples of AI-enhanced content workflows any brand can adopt.

Reactive PR campaign prompts

Use AI to research and brainstorm campaign ideas based on breaking news that aligns with the brand’s vertical and target market.

For example, you might prompt ChatGPT to take on a digital PR persona tasked with scanning breaking news in your industry from the past 24-72 hours and generating timely campaign ideas.

This kind of AI-assisted brainstorming ensures your content ideas are timely and poised to earn media attention without waiting for time-intensive human research and ideation sessions.

Sample prompt

Role: You are a digital PR strategist for [Brand], tasked with identifying trending, high-authority news stories in [Topic/Industry/Region] from the past 24-72 hours and generating timely, data-driven campaign ideas that use the brand’s expertise to secure mainstream media coverage.
Campaign criteria:
- Trend-driven: Focus on viral/trending topics from major outlets, TikTok, Reddit, X, Google Trends.
- Brand-relevant: Align with [Brand]’s domain expertise.
- Timely and actionable: Campaign can be executed within 24-72 hours.
- Data-backed: Use rapid methods – pulse surveys, social scraping, Google Trends, proprietary data.
- Emotionally compelling: Ideas must be timely, educational, emotional, or entertaining.
Campaign structure:
- Title: A concise, engaging campaign title.
- Description: Explain the campaign idea, key insights/questions, target audience, and tie to current news + brand’s expertise.
- Methodology: Outline how you will gather and analyze data (e.g., surveys, social scraping, government datasets, trends).

Dig deeper: Reactive PR and AI: How to capitalize on trending topics faster

Data journalism campaign prompts

Consider training a custom AI model on your own archive of successful content marketing campaigns (or case studies from your industry) to generate fresh campaign ideas.

An internal ideation agent could be fed thousands of past campaign briefs, articles, or link building projects along with their performance outcomes.

The AI can then generate new ideas tailored to your brand’s vertical, following patterns that historically earned high authority backlinks and engagement.

You might guide it with criteria. For instance, the idea must:

Have a high likelihood of attracting authoritative .edu/.gov/.com links.
Be data-driven and unique.
Align with your business goals.
Be timely or seasonal.
Include a visually engaging component.

This way, the AI isn’t pulling generic ideas from thin air – it’s remixing elements of proven hits to suggest the next big content piece.

Sample prompt

Role: You are a creative data-driven PR strategist, tasked with generating newsworthy, high-authority campaign ideas that earn backlinks from top-tier media (.com), government (.gov), and educational (.edu) sites. You focus on creating unique, engaging, and data-backed campaigns tailored to [Brand]’s specific vertical (e.g., education, tax, aviation, hosting, creative industries).
Campaign criteria:
- High-authority potential
- Data-driven
- Creative and unique
- Aligned with goals
- Timely
- Visually engaging
Approved methodologies:
Campaign structure:
- Title
- Description
- Methodology

Ideation scoring prompt

Another valuable use of AI is evaluating and refining newsworthy brand content at scale.

Marketing teams constantly brainstorm ideas for data journalism campaigns, blog posts, and social content.

Based on learned criteria, an AI agent can rapidly assess each idea for “newsworthiness” or virality potential.

For example, you can program an AI to act as an editorial panel that:

Scores ideas on a scale for promotional viability.
Suggests which statistics or angles would make the idea more compelling to the press.
Even recommends how to execute the methodology more rigorously.

This doesn’t replace your decision-making, but it helps streamline a recurring process that has a proven framework that AI can help scale.

Sample prompt

Role: You are a data journalism and PR expert tasked with evaluating the newsworthiness and promotional viability of data-driven campaign concepts, including surveys, studies, meta-rankings, and analyses. Your role is to rate the idea’s media potential, suggest the best promotional angles (headlines/takeaways), and refine the methodology to ensure data accuracy and media appeal.
Evaluation process:
- Promotional viability score
- Potential headline-worthy takeaways
- Suggested name
- Methodology recommendation

Beyond these examples, dozens of other AI applications can streamline your content workflow.

Forward-thinking teams are deploying custom AI assistants for tasks such as:

Writing survey questions.
Building campaign briefs.
Identifying typos or brand guideline violations.
Discovering unique data sources or variables for new research.
And so much more.

An AI agent can improve any repetitive or data-intensive part of content creation.

Once you’ve used AI to assist in creating high-quality, E-E-A-T-rich content, the next step is to ensure that the content gets in front of the right audience.

This is where AI can also play a game-changing role in distribution and PR.

2. Scaling digital PR with AI

Building your brand’s authority and trust through earned media has become more critical in an era of AI-driven search results.

Google’s algorithm and AI models prioritize widely cited and trusted content, favoring brands with strong E-E-A-T signals.

Digital PR helps secure high-authority backlinks and trusted media mentions that improve search rankings.

These efforts also increase the likelihood of being featured in AI-generated results, as LLMs are trained on well-cited, newsworthy sources.

In short, earning mainstream news and authoritative, niche-relevant brand coverage simultaneously strengthens your visibility across search, social, and emerging AI platforms.

AI holds enormous potential for PR teams. It can:

Research journalists.
Personalize outreach.
Even draft pitches in seconds.

Still, we must pair scale with skill.

Relying too much on automation can lead to spammy, robotic pitches that journalists ignore (or resent).

Rather than blasting out “just another AI-generated pitch,” smart PR teams use an AI-powered, human-perfected workflow.

AI handles the heavy lifting – research, pattern-based tasks, and first drafts – while humans focus on strategy, messaging, and real relationship-building.

The key is scaling the repeatable parts with AI and reserving human effort for creativity, judgment, and authentic personalization.

Here are a few high-impact ways PR professionals can use AI today.

AI pitch strategy prompt

One of the easiest prompts to create is a digital PR strategy generator that mimics the pitch templates your team uses to earn authoritative brand coverage.

Incorporating training guides, sample pitch templates, industry pro tips, and other proprietary knowledge is crucial.

This is key to building a GPT or agent that helps your PR team stand out in a sea of sameness.

Below are the areas you should hone in and expand when designing a PR strategy prompt.

Role: You are PPS savant, a digital PR Expert specialized in generating a complete pre-pitch strategy (PPS) for data-driven PR studies and media outreach. Your job is to extract the most compelling statistics from a provided study or campaign and generate a fully developed, press-ready outreach strategy, including subject lines, email copy, and a targeted media list.
Distill:
- Compelling statistics
- Subject lines
- Email pitch structure
- Follow-up pitch structure
- Targeted media outlets
- Tone and focus

Media list builder

Finding the right outlets and contacts is a time-consuming part of PR that AI can dramatically improve.

Instead of manually searching media databases (or paying for expensive platforms that quickly go out of date), an AI-driven media list builder can scan recent articles and news to identify journalists and publications relevant to your content.

For example, given a summary of your campaign or a PDF of your research, an AI agent could compile a list of the 30–50 most relevant publishers and reporters, including:

The outlet name.
A link to a recent similar article (to prove relevance).
The journalist’s name and beat.
Even metrics like the outlet’s traffic.

This increases the odds of getting interest and saves thousands of dollars that might have been spent on static media databases.

Sample prompt

Role: You are a digital PR publisher expert who analyzes brand studies to identify the 40 most relevant, high-authority news outlets based on the provided resource. Your focus is on matching the content (attached PDF) to vertical-specific, top-tier outlets and ensuring maximum relevance and link potential.
Publisher recommendations should include:
- Publisher name
- Root domain (clickable URL)
- Vertical section (e.g., “All Finance”, “Lifestyle”, “Health”, “Education”, etc.)
- Domain authority (DA)
- Site traffic
- Relevant post

Blog search

Beyond mainstream media outlets, much of the “long tail” of PR success comes from niche blogs and industry influencers who syndicate or share your content.

Here, too, AI can make a huge difference.

To solve this, we built a “blog search agent” that runs a semantic search across 20,000+ active (non-spam) blogs from Kagi’s Small Web to help uncover niche-specific influencers who regularly update their smaller, mid-tier sites for highly relevant audiences.

By using AI in these ways, PR teams can significantly increase the speed and quality of their outreach, leading to more authoritative coverage.

Top brands already use these tactics to land stories in national newspapers and specialized trade publications.

More than algorithmic efficiency, effective PR requires credible, newsworthy content and authentic human relationships.

AI can help you write 10 pitches in the time it used to take to write one.

Still, if the core story isn’t strong or you haven’t bothered to personalize it, journalists will delete your email.

Get the newsletter search marketers rely on.

Business email address

See terms.

3. Streamlining social content syndication with AI

New search and social platforms will inevitably rise and fall.

However, one principle remains constant: marketers must repurpose and syndicate their best content across the diverse platforms where their audience engages.

In the age of AI, diversification is key for building defensible brand visibility and traffic.

A blog post that earns links and ranks on Google can be adapted into an X thread, a Reddit post, a LinkedIn article, a TikTok script, or a YouTube video.

Each extension reinforces your expertise and reaches new pockets of your audience.

Consistent cross-platform visibility boosts SEO and engagement and trains AI models to recognize your brand’s authority everywhere.

Share of social media referrals to the web

Many content teams excel at creating high-value content, but they often lack the bandwidth or distribution tools.

By automating parts of the syndication process and optimizing content for each channel, AI ensures your work actually gets seen.

Here are a few ways AI can amplify your cross-channel content strategy.

Reddit advice tool

With Reddit dominating the SERPs, it’s a crucial time to evaluate this social platform as another avenue for your content syndication.

This agent helps your social team:

Identify relevant subreddits for your brand content.
Develop suggested titles and justify why that style would resonate with each specific community.
Generate article summaries to get you started.

AI image creation

AI is making creating eye-catching graphics, illustrations, or photos to accompany your content easier than ever.

That said, the jury is still out on the best models and prompts that can make or break your brand’s output.

A few of my personal favorites include DALL-E 3, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion, which can produce custom images that were unimaginable a few years ago.

Still, the key difference is the quality of your prompt engineering.

Often, the best prompt designers are those with a creative eye, like graphic designers, who will know how to coax the model toward a desired style or factual accuracy.

The result: your content stands out in crowded feeds without the cost or time of a full photoshoot or graphic design cycle for every piece.

Dig deeper: How to create images and visuals with generative AI

Diversifying and repurposing content across channels is no longer optional. It’s essential for building a resilient brand presence.

AI makes this far easier by taking on the heavy lifting of format adaptation.

Your most valuable content assets can live multiple lives: a research report can spawn dozens of social posts, videos, and media pitches.

A single great insight can become an infographic, a blog, a webinar, and a Reddit AMA.

With AI handling the transformation and distribution at scale, you can ensure that no piece of content potential goes untapped.

The payoff is greater reach, more engagement, and a brand that appears ubiquitously wherever your audience (or the algorithms) might look.

AI tools and agents will transform 2025 marketing strategies and workflows

If there’s one overarching lesson in all of this, it’s that AI isn’t replacing great marketers – it’s amplifying their proven workflows and freeing up time for even greater innovation.

The brands that outpace their competition in the next 1–3 years will use AI to scale proven marketing workflows.

Humans will stay relentlessly focused on driving creativity, building community, and establishing trust.

Forward-thinking teams are already investing in comprehensive AI toolkits that touch every aspect of marketing:

Content research and clustering.
Content optimization.
Digital PR outreach.
Technical SEO analysis.
Social media scheduling.
Sentiment analysis.
And much more.

These early adopters recognize that nearly every marketing workflow will have some element that AI can improve.

By experimenting now, they’re building a foundation of AI-augmented processes that will be standard practice for everyone else a few years later.

The message for marketing leaders is clear: don’t wait.

Encourage your team to pilot AI in different parts of your operation and see what boosts your efficiency or results.
Create internal case studies of what works (and share these insights with peers, contributing to industry knowledge).

Remember, the goal isn’t to hand everything over to machines. It’s to let machines do what they’re great at so that humans can do what they’re great at.

The winning formula is AI + human, not AI vs. human.

In 2025 and beyond, success in SEO and cross-channel marketing will come down to this balance.

The hype cycles will continue – new tools, algorithms, and platforms – but the fundamentals remain.

Know your audience.
Create real value.
Earn trust.
Be everywhere your audience is looking.

AI is simply the newest (and arguably most powerful) set of tools to help you execute on those fundamentals at scale.

Those who embrace these tools thoughtfully will:

Safeguard their brand’s visibility.
Reclaim precious time to focus on strategy and big ideas.
Foster the human connections that truly build brands.

And that’s a winning playbook, no matter how search evolves.

Bottom line?

AI will boost your growth strategy if you don’t shy away from being an innovator on the technology adoption curve.

Your 2025 brand goal is simple.

Repurpose your most valuable content to achieve cross-channel brand visibility, authority, and engagement where your target market resides.
Hedge against the rapidly evolving AI landscape that will reshape consumer behavior over the next 12-36 months.

Read more at Read More

Google Search Console updates its Merchant opportunities report

April 8, 2025/0 Comments/in Search Engine Land, Web Design News/by

Google announced it has refreshed and renamed the Search Console report now known as the Merchant opportunities report. Previously, this report was named the Search Console Shopping tab listings report, when it was introduced in November 2022.

The Merchant opportunities report within Google Search Console can show you recommendations for improving how your online shop appears on Google.

What Google said. Google posted on LinkedIn about this report saying:

“Today we’re refreshing the Search Console Shopping tab listings report to also include details about payments methods and store ratings. To bring the report name in line with its functionality, we’re renaming it to be the “Merchant opportunities report”.

Check it out and make sure to add important info about your store, so customers can see it when shopping on Google.”

The report. Here is a screenshot of this report:

As you can see, this report will tell you what you are missing when it comes to Google Merchant Center and your fields in that area. The help document goes on to explain:

Adding store information can improve the display of your products and help people when they’re shopping on Google. If you’ve created and associated your Merchant Center account under Merchant opportunities in Search Console, you’ll see suggested opportunities, including:

You can return to the report to see if your information is pending, approved, or flagged for issues that need fixing.

Why we care. If you sell product on your site, this is a report you want to make sure to review and see what opportunities you are missing with your e-commerce site setup. You can then plug those items and hopefully get more exposure within Google Search, Shopping and even local results.

Read more at Read More

How to create a 301 redirect in WordPress

April 8, 2025/0 Comments/in Web Design News, Yoast SEO/by

Do you need to create a 301 redirect in your WordPress site? You’ve come to the right place! We’ll show you how to set up 301 redirects using three methods. Do you know if you need to use a redirect or whether a 301 redirect is right? No worries, we’ll explain that, too.

Redirects in a nutshell

The name ‘redirect’ says it all: It sends visitors traveling from a specific page to an alternative one instead. Or, if there’s no alternative, an HTTP header (similar to redirects) can make that clear to users and search engines. It’s like registering a change of address when you move house. What if an old friend visits your old home to visit you? A redirect is like a front door note telling your visitors where you live now. Any time you change a URL or delete a page, you should think about redirects.

Different redirects serve different purposes. Since this post is all about 301 redirects, let’s look at some situations where you might need to use one.

When should you use a 301 redirect?

A 301 redirect should be used when:

You’ve permanently deleted a page on your site, but you have another similar page you want to send users to instead
You’ve changed the URL of a page that was already published
You’re moving your site to a new domain
You’re changing your URL structure, e.g. changing from HTTP to HTTPS, or removing ‘www’ from the start of your URL

These are some of the more common reasons for using a 301 redirect, but other situations require redirecting, too. And besides that, there are other redirects and HTTP headers you can use in other situations. For instance, if you permanently delete a page and there is no suitable replacement or substitute you can send users to, then a 410 redirect is what you need to use. We have another post where you can read more about which redirects to use in which situations.

Option 1: Create a 301 redirect on the server

To set up a 301 redirect using .htaccess for the given example URLs, you need to add a specific line to your site’s .htaccess file, which is located in the root directory of your WordPress installation. Here’s how you can do it:

Access your server. Access your site’s files using an FTP client or your web host’s file manager. You can also access and edit your .htaccess file from inside the Yoast SEO tools section.
Locate the .htaccess file: The .htaccess file is usually in the root directory of your WordPress installation.
Edit the .htaccess file: Open the .htaccess file with a text editor.
Add the redirect rule: Insert the following line at the end of the file to create the redirect. This rule indicates that requests to /page-1 should be permanently redirected to /page-2.

Redirect 301 /page-1 /page-2

Save changes: If you use an FTP client, save your changes to the .htaccess file and upload them back to your server.

Using this rule, any request to https://example.com/page-1 will be permanently redirected to https://example.com/page-2. The 301 status code indicates to search engines and browsers that the redirect is permanent. Note that this approach assumes the URLs follow the format /page-1 and /page-2 without additional subdirectories. You can adjust the path if your URLs are different.

These configurations can become unmaintainable over time, especially if you’re an avid blogger trying to improve your posts’ SEO. You must also log in to your server over FTP, edit the files, and re-upload them whenever you add a new redirect. That’s why, generally speaking, this method is not considered the way to go.

Option 2: Create a 301 redirect with Cloudflare

Most of us already use Cloudflare in one form or another, so you know that it offers a wide array of tools to help our websites perform. For instance, it comes with a Rules feature where you can set various options related to your website cache. You can also find various redirect options here; this will help you guide up redirects for everything from HTTP to HTTPS to single redirects for individual pages.

It’s easy to set up redirects through Cloudflare. Here’s how that works:

Log into your Cloudflare account: Go to the Cloudflare dashboard and select your account and domain. Then, select Rules and Overview.
Create a redirect rule: Select Create rule and then choose Redirect Rule. In the Rule name field, you might name it something like Redirect Page 1 to Page 2.
Define the matching criteria: Set a wildcard pattern and set the Request URL to https://example.com/page-1. This means any traffic to example.com/page-1 will be matched for redirection
Set the redirect parameters:
- Target URL: Enter https://example.com/page-2 as the redirect destination.
- Status code: Select 301 to indicate a permanent redirect.
- Preserve query string: Decide based on your preference; enable this option if the original URL’s query string should be retained. When you choose to preserve the query string in a redirect, you keep any additional parameters that may be included in the original URL when redirecting to the new URL. Preserving the query string is often useful for tracking purposes, like retaining analytics or advertising parameters, ensuring that useful data isn’t lost during redirection.
Deploy the rule:
Click Deploy to save and activate the redirect.

Now, whenever someone visits https://example.com/page-1, they will be redirected to https://example.com/page-2 with a 301 status code, indicating a permanent move.

You can efficiently manage traffic without touching your server configuration by setting up redirects via Cloudflare. It provides flexibility for using simple patterns or more complex URL structures.

Cloudflare offers essential tools to manage the performance of your website

Option 3: Create a 301 redirect the easy way with Yoast SEO

Our Yoast SEO Premium plugin offers you a helping hand when it comes to creating these redirects. Our built-in redirect manager assists you whenever you change the URL of a post, page, or any taxonomies that may result in a possible 404 if you don’t properly redirect visitors. In addition, we also offer you an interface to edit or remove these redirects at a later point in time. The plugin also tells you when you’re about to create a redirect that will result in a redirect loop. This looping is something you want to avoid at all costs.

Here’s how you can set up a 301 redirect using Yoast SEO Premium in WordPress:

Access the Yoast SEO settings: Log into your WordPress admin area and navigate to the Yoast SEO section.
Open the Redirect Manager: Go to the Redirects feature in Yoast SEO Premium.
Add a new redirect: Follow the steps below to create a new rule.
- In the Old URL field, enter /page-1 as the source path.
- In the New URL field, enter the destination /page-2 as the complete new URL.
- Choose a 301 (Moved Permanently) from the list of redirect types.
Save the Redirect: Click Add redirect, and Yoast SEO will handle the redirection.

Yoast SEO Premium also offers an option to automatically redirect deleted content. When you delete a page or post, Yoast SEO prompts you to set up a redirect to avoid broken links. This ensures visitors and search engines won’t encounter 404 errors and are smoothly directed to a relevant page.

These features are part of Yoast SEO Premium, designed to make managing redirects straightforward without manually altering code or server settings. They keep your site user-friendly and help maintain SEO performance by preventing dead links.

Adding a redirect with Yoast SEO Premium is very easy

Conclusion

Understanding how to set up 301 redirects is essential for maintaining your website’s integrity and user experience. Whether you choose Cloudflare, Yoast SEO Premium, or the .htaccess method, each approach offers a simple solution to guide visitors to the right place, preventing 404 errors and keeping your SEO rankings intact. Smoothly transitioning traffic from old links to new ones enhances usability and search visibility. Choose the best method that suits your needs and keeps your website running smoothly.

The post How to create a 301 redirect in WordPress appeared first on Yoast.

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10 Ways to Create Helpful Content + Examples and Checklist

April 7, 2025/0 Comments/in Web Design News/by

Like it or not, we’re all at the mercy of Google’s ranking systems.

Systems that reward some sites with high rankings.

And wipe others off the SERPs overnight.

But it’s not all doom and gloom.

Google provides fairly detailed guidelines about the type of content it’s looking for: helpful content.

We follow these guidelines here at Backlinko.

For example, our SEO strategy guide dominates the search results.

And ranks for more than 3.2K long tail keywords:

Organic Research – Backlinko – SEO Strategy

But this wasn’t by luck.

We aim for every article we publish to meet — or exceed — Google’s helpful content standards.

And you can, too.

After reading this article, you’ll have 10 Google-approved strategies for creating people-first content.

You’ll also see examples from real sites that excel at creating helpful content.

Plus, you’ll get a free checklist to ensure your pages meet Google’s quality standards.

Let’s start by understanding what “helpful content” is in Google’s eyes.

What Is Helpful Content?

Helpful content delivers what a searcher needs, whether they’re seeking information, researching options, or ready to buy.

It’s content written for people — not search engines.

But what was the Google Helpful Content Update (HCU)?

First launched in 2022, Google’s helpful content update was designed to reward people-first content while filtering out pages created primarily for search engines.

According to Google, helpful content does the following:

Provides trustworthy information backed by genuine expertise
Delivers substantial value compared to competing results
Demonstrates firsthand experience with the topic
Creates a satisfying user experience
Serves a purpose beyond just ranking in search

Google uses a site-wide classifier. It checks your whole domain, not just single pages, for helpfulness.

This means a significant amount of low-quality content can drag down even your best pages.

The biggest changes to this algorithm update took place in late 2023 and early 2024. Some sites lost A LOT of organic traffic.

Google confirms it reduced low-quality content in search results by a staggering 45%.

The sites hit hardest by these updates were:

Content-only websites with no actual products or services
Sites creating articles purely for search traffic
Affiliate sites with thin content and/or a high monetization-to-informational content ratio

The HCU aftermath sparked lots of debate about whether or not these updates were truly “helpful.”

And if the declines and deindexings were warranted.

But the reality remains: Google determines your visibility in search.

And as the makers (and breakers) of rankings, following their guidelines is essential.

As of March 2024, the helpful content update is no longer a thing.

But helpfulness isn’t going away. The HCU is now integrated into Google’s core ranking systems.

Bottom line?

Creating helpful content is vital for your survival in search.

10 Ways to Create Helpful Content That Google Rewards

There’s no sugarcoating it:

Creating exceptional content is hard work.

But it can pay off through high rankings and targeted traffic.

Download our Helpful Content Checklist to follow along as you read. Use it before hitting publish to ensure your content meets Google’s quality standards.

1. Incorporate Firsthand Experiences

Want to instantly make your content more helpful?

Add personal stories and examples (real ones — not AI-generated).

Why?

Because it shows you actually know what you’re talking about — which is exactly what Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness) prioritize.

Google advises against generic, regurgitated advice on its website:

By including personal experiences in your content — including your successes and failures — you’ll create the kind of content search engines reward.

And your target audience wants to read.

Take this backlink guide from Backlinko founder Brian Dean, for example:

Brian didn’t just give generic advice like “create great content” or “reach out to bloggers.”

He shared specific tactics and advice that actually worked for him, including:

Real email templates he’s used for outreach
Screenshots showing actual results
Step-by-step instructions
Tool recommendations
Specific case studies with traffic metrics

Backlinko – High quality backlinks – Intro

The result?

Content that feels like you’re learning from someone who’s been there, done that — not canned advice you can find on any site.

No wonder this guide has maintained high rankings for years.

And generated 31.5K backlinks.

Backlink Analytics – Backlinko – High quality backlinks

Pro tip: When sharing personal experiences, focus on specific outcomes and measurable results. Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines value demonstrable expertise. So, don’t just say, “This worked for me,” explain exactly how and in what timeframe. Include photos and screenshots when possible to back up claims.

2. Add Expert Insights and Quotes

Expert quotes add authority and new perspectives to your content.

They also help you meet Google’s helpful content expectations by providing insights readers can’t find elsewhere.

Even if you have personal experience with a topic, expert opinions add dimension and alternative perspectives that make your content more comprehensive and helpful.

Expert quotes strengthen your content in multiple ways:

Add credibility to your claims
Provide unique insights
Create content that’s difficult for competitors to replicate

For a great example of this in action, look at pet company Chewy.

Their content often contains insights from board-certified veterinarians and animal behaviorists.

This makes it more authoritative and trustworthy.

Source expert insights through:

Original interviews (via email, phone, or video)
Reaching out to experts on LinkedIn, X, or industry-specific sites and forums
Attending industry events and networking for insights
Using a media outreach platform

As Nate Matherson, head of growth at Numeral, says:

When writing blog posts, I often source expert insights from leaders in the SEO industry for my weekly SEO podcast, Optimize. For example, after interviewing Ethan Smith, the CEO of Graphite, on my podcast, I repurposed one of his quotes about topical authority to use in a blog post on the same topic.

3. Create Content That Meets Search Intent

Understanding and satisfying search intent is fundamental to helpful content.

For example, if someone searches “how to fix a leaky faucet,” they want clear, step-by-step instructions — not a sales page for plumbing services.

Content that addresses their actual goal (fixing the faucet themselves) will be considered more helpful.

But first, you need to understand the four main types of search intent:

Informational: Seeking knowledge — “how to fix a leaky faucet”
Navigational: Looking for a specific website — “Home Depot plumbing”
Commercial: Researching options — “best tankless water heaters”
Transactional: Ready to buy — “buy Moen touchless kitchen faucet”

Not sure if you’re creating people-first content that meets search intent?

Consider these points from Google:

After reading your content, will someone leave feeling they’ve learned enough about a topic to help achieve their goal? Will someone reading your content leave feeling like they’ve had a satisfying experience?

If the answer to either question is “no,” your content isn’t fully addressing search intent.

To better meet search intent:

Analyze the current top-ranking pages for your target keywords
Note what format dominates (guides, lists, videos, etc.)
Use a keyword research tool to check search intent for each term and identify related questions and topics. Keyword Magic Tool is helpful for this task.
Use clear headings that answer specific questions
Include practical next steps or related resources
Demonstrate topical authority by addressing all relevant subtopics and common pain points in your content

Start your keyword research

Explore the largest keyword database.

4. Use Reputable Sources

Using high-quality sources (and citing them) is important for all sites.

It signals to readers and search engines that the information you’re sharing is reputable, accurate, and verifiable.

Well+Good, a wellness site, demonstrates this in its article about medication safety:

They support every health claim with information from:

Board-certified psychiatrists
Professors of psychiatry and behavioral sciences
Peer-reviewed medical journals
Reputable health resources, like .gov sites.

Well+Good – Reputable sources support health claim

When evaluating sources for your content, follow these best practices:

Prioritize recognized authorities in the field (major universities, established publications, industry leaders)
Check publication dates to ensure information is current
Check that you’re referencing the original source of the information
Look for potential conflicts of interest or bias in the source’s funding or affiliations

Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines place heavy emphasis on trustworthiness.

And nothing builds trust faster than showing readers you’ve based your information on solid, reputable sources.

5. Hire Writers with Topical Experience

When it comes to helpful content, experience matters.

So, prioritize writers with backgrounds in your niche over generalists.

This will benefit your content in multiple ways:

More practical, nuanced advice that only comes from hands-on experience
Insider tips that readers can’t find on other sites
Real examples and case studies that build immediate trust

For example, Harvard Health Publishing features physicians as their content creators.

harvard-health-publishing-content-creators

These writers have impressive qualifications.

Including clinical experience, research credentials, and specialized knowledge in their medical fields.

Harvard Health Publishing – Writer's qualifications

This level of expertise is particularly important for Your Money, Your Life (YMYL) topics, where accuracy directly impacts reader well-being.

But experienced writers are valuable across all blog niches, from beauty to travel.

For instance, Family Vacationist, a travel blog, features contributors who have personally visited the destinations they cover.

Family vacationist – Writer – Insider tips

This is evident by the insider tips they give.

Including advice on the best rides for kids, the tastiest treats in theme parks, and which hotels to stay at and why.

Harvard Health Publishing – Insider tips on the topic

Family Vacationist also highlights its writers’ experience in bios.

Including relevant publications where they’ve been featured.

Even if you already have experienced writers, an expert review process will add another layer of credibility to your content.

Have subject matter experts fact-check your information
Include reviewer credentials directly in your content
Highlight your review process on your editorial standards page

For example, home services company Angi has experts review its content and features them prominently with a byline.

The expert reviewer also gets a bio to highlight their qualifications.

Investing in topic experts signals to readers and search engines that you’re committed to delivering accurate content and genuine value, not just ranking for keywords.

Pro tip: Create a database of expert reviewers categorized by specialty, experience level, and publication history. When new content needs arise, you’ll know exactly who to contact for a review.

6. Provide an Optimal Page Experience

Page experience is a critical component of helpful content.

If your page loads slowly or is hard to navigate, readers will leave. It doesn’t matter how good your information is.

But as Google states on its website (in slightly different words), doing the bare minimum won’t cut it.

For the best results, cover all aspects of the page experience rather than focusing on isolated elements.

Here’s how:

Analyze Your Current Performance

Use PageSpeed Insights and Google Search Console’s Core Web Vitals report to establish your baseline metrics.

Focus on the following scores:

If your assessment fails, follow the tool’s recommendations to improve these metrics.

Like reducing unused JavaScript and third-party code.

Pro tip: Use a tool like Semrush’s Site Audit to get weekly updates about your site’s technical performance. You’ll get automatic updates about issues affecting page experience, including loading speed, crawlability, broken links, large files, and more.

Optimize Images

Compress images without sacrificing quality using tools like TinyPNG, ImageOptim, or built-in CMS optimizers.

This will keep your images from dragging down your page speed.

Test Across All Device Types

Ensure your site has a responsive design that works across desktops, tablets, and various mobile screen sizes.

Use Chrome DevTools or BrowserStack to test how your site performs on popular devices and browsers.

Pay special attention to touch targets on mobile.

Check that buttons and links are easily tappable without accidental clicks.

Improve Security

Use HTTPS across your entire site to build user trust and meet Google’s requirements for secure browsing.

Google Search Console’s HTTPS report will tell you if your pages are secure. (And what to fix if they’re not.)

You’ll also want to configure proper SSL certificates and ensure all resources load securely.

Optimize Above-the-Fold Content

Prioritize loading essential above-the-fold content (aka content that appears on a webpage before scrolling) to capture web visitors’ attention.

And draw them to your most important content or assets.

Minimize unnecessary elements that push key content below the fold, especially on mobile devices.

Balance Monetization with User Experience

If you use display ads, ensure they don’t trigger layout shifts, overwhelm content, or create friction points for readers.

Reserve space for ads in your layout to prevent content jumps when they load.

7. Seek Information Gain (aka Bring Something New to the SERPs)

Google hasn’t said that “information gain” is a ranking factor, but it aligns with their emphasis on adding value to search results.

Information gain means adding something new to the topic. Something readers can’t find anywhere else.

I’ve mentioned some information gain methods already, like firsthand experiences and expert quotes.

But there are other ways to achieve information gain, including the following:

Original research: Survey your audience or industry and publish the findings
Proprietary frameworks: Develop your own scoring system or methodology
Product testing: Go beyond specs to share real-world performance

For example, the finance site NerdWallet goes to great lengths to thoroughly review different financial products.

Like credit cards, savings accounts, and personal loans.

As part of that effort, they created a NerdWallet star rating methodology.

But they don’t use a one-size-fits-all rating system.

They created separate methodologies for each financial product category.

Why?

Because different factors matter for different financial decisions.

NerdWallet – Star rating methodologies by topic

They also published detailed explanations of how they weigh different factors in their rating system.

This helps give their star rating system more credibility.

You’ll see these ratings on various NerdWallet reviews to help readers choose the best products for their needs.

Like this one for a credit card:

The key takeaway here?

Information gain often requires a significant upfront investment.

Whether in time, money, or both.

But it leads to something valuable: content that competitors can’t replicate overnight.

8. Refresh Existing Content

Creating new content isn’t always the best strategy.

Sometimes, updating what you already have delivers better results with less effort.

Fresh, comprehensive content shows Google you’re committed to quality and accuracy.

It can also help boost your rankings.

In my experience, updating existing content often delivers faster traffic gains than creating new pieces. A blog post I wrote for Positional about title tags basically sat in the same SERP position for nine months. After revamping the post with additional information, it shot up in rankings almost immediately — and the ranking and traffic gains have held.

When refreshing content, prioritize these improvements:

Update statistics and examples with current data
Enhance visuals and formatting for a better user experience
Incorporate new expert insights or research
Fix outdated advice or recommendations
Target evolving search intent

Warning: Updating old content with a new date to appear “fresh” without substantial changes won’t fool Google. Focus on genuine updates that add new value, insights, or relevant information to improve the reader’s experience.

9. Create Helpful Graphics and Videos

Helpful content doesn’t just mean the words on the page.

Graphics and videos can also be valuable additions that improve reader comprehension and engagement.

When creating visuals for your content:

Focus on clarifying complex ideas, not just adding decoration
Create custom graphics rather than using generic stock images
Ensure videos add unique value beyond what’s in the written content
Use callout boxes to highlight key takeaways

At Backlinko, we take visual content seriously.

You’ll often see us using screenshots from various analytics programs to highlight results and showcase website performance.

Backlinko – Information gain – Visual content

Our custom graphics illustrate key points and make complex topics more digestible.

They also keep readers engaged throughout the article.

Backlinko – How to start a blog – Graphics

We use tables to make data-heavy topics more digestible.

And improve the readability and retention of our content.

We also use callout boxes to break up text and add more value.

Like side notes and pro tips.

Backlinko – How to start a blog – Pro tip

Visual elements make your content more appealing and effective at conveying ideas clearly.

They can also help you improve your bounce rate.

10. Be Strategic with AI Writing Tools

AI writing tools can be great assistants, but they shouldn’t replace human writers.

In fact, Google warns against “using extensive automation to produce content on many topics.”

GSC – Avoid creating search engine-first content

Google’s March 2024 update specifically targeted sites using AI to generate low-quality content at scale.

Google search update – March 2024 – Scaled content

As a result, many websites with large amounts of AI-generated content saw dramatic ranking and indexing issues.

But if you read its guidelines, you’ll see that Google isn’t technically against using AI.

As they say on their site — they reward high-quality content “however it’s produced.”

This is a little bit of a gray area, though.

Your idea of high-quality, human-edited AI content may not match Google’s.

But overall, avoid using AI to create low-quality, unoriginal content to manipulate rankings:

Including:

Publishing AI-generated articles without significant human input
Creating entire pieces with no subject-matter expertise
Relying on AI for factual claims without verification
Generating content solely to target keywords with no real value

Luckily, there are plenty of ways to benefit from AI content tools while staying in Google’s good graces.

This includes:

Summarizing research papers or creating key takeaways
Suggesting potential structures based on top-ranking content
Creating (very) rough drafts of blog posts, email marketing, newsletters, and more
Improving clarity, fixing grammar issues, or suggesting better phrasing
Generating topic ideas or angles for your content

The key?

Use AI as a foundation, not a final product.

Enhance it with your expertise, personal experiences, and fact-checking to satisfy Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines.

Bonus: Evaluate Your Content’s Helpfulness with Google’s “Who-How-Why” Framework

Want a simple way to assess if your content meets Google’s helpful content standards?

Use their Who-How-Why framework.

Who Created the Content?

The “Who” question focuses on expertise and credibility.

Google wants to see clear information on the team behind your content.

This can be strategists, writers, editors, fact-checkers, and expert reviewers.

Add detailed author bios that highlight relevant experience and credentials
Include prominent bylines on all articles where readers would expect them
Link bylines to author pages with additional background information

For example, the National Council on Aging (NCOA) highlights its writers’ experience and expertise prominently in bios.

Including medical credentials, education, and writing experience.

This transparency builds trust with both readers and search engines.

How Was the Content Created?

The “How” question is all about transparency in your process.

Google wants to know:

What research or testing methods did you use?
How thorough was your approach?
Did you use AI assistance? (If so, how?)

If you conducted product testing, explain your methodology.

Don’t just say, “We tested 10 products.”

Be specific.

For example, the NCOA highlights its testing data on articles.

Including how many hours of research went into their testing.

And how many experts they consulted.

NCOA – Why you can trust-our expert review

Why Does the Content Exist?

The “Why” question is the most critical — and the one most likely to trigger ranking issues.

Ask yourself:

Is this content primarily for helping people? (Good)
Is it primarily for attracting search traffic? (Bad)

If you’re only publishing to rank for keywords without providing unique value, Google will eventually catch on.

Instead, create content that would be valuable even if search engines didn’t exist.

Content that people would seek out directly.

Like this in-depth NCOA guide on respite care that would be valuable to its target audience, whether on- or offline.

NCOA – Content that people seek directly

Put This Helpful-Content Framework into Action

Want results? Stop creating content just to check an SEO box.

The sites that dominate search results are those that genuinely help their audiences.

With the 10 strategies in this guide, you’ll create content that Google recognizes as truly valuable.

And attracts traffic because it deserves to rank, not because it’s gaming the system.

So, download our Helpful Content Checklist if you haven’t already.

Then, check out our Content Gap Analysis guide to identify untapped opportunities where you can apply these principles.

You’ll discover where to focus your efforts for maximum impact so you stand out on the SERPs — and withstand Google’s next update.

The post 10 Ways to Create Helpful Content + Examples and Checklist appeared first on Backlinko.

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Using AI to generate great SEO titles and meta descriptions

April 7, 2025/0 Comments/in Web Design News, Yoast SEO/by

You need compelling titles and meta descriptions to attract visitors from search results and encourage users to click. Manually writing these elements for every page can be quite challenging. Generative AI can streamline this process by automating it. However, you should check the AI-generated suggestions critically. This post will show various methods for generating effective titles and meta descriptions using generative AI for SEO.

AI titles and meta descriptions for SEO

Titles and meta descriptions act as your web page’s representatives in the SERPs. These snippets are often the first impression users get of your content, impacting their decision to click and explore further. Therefore, engaging titles and meta descriptions are key to capturing attention, showing relevance, and getting users to visit your site. Generative AI can help write effective ones. When done correctly, integrating generative AI with SEO can be very beneficial.

Improving click-through rates (CTR) and UX

Titles and meta descriptions that sell your content help improve click-through rates. Compelling titles and descriptions are relevant to the users’ search query, which helps them to click on your link.

A higher CTR signals to search engines that your content is valuable, which could lead to more traffic. Moreover, describing the essence of your content helps users find what they’re seeking. This could lead to more engagement, more time spent on your website, and, ultimately, SEO success.

A helpful AI tool in Yoast SEO Premium

Experience the benefits of generative AI and make your work simpler today!

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The (un)predictability of Google’s rewriting game

While you invest time and effort in writing titles and meta descriptions, it’s important to note that Google often rewrites them on the SERPs. Therefore, there’s no guarantee that your carefully written titles and meta descriptions will always appear as intended.

Google often thinks it knows how to present your site best. It tends to rewrite stuff to provide users with the most relevant and informative snippets that align with their search intent. Thus, it may rephrase or modify a title or meta description if it believes its version matches the user’s query or accurately represents the content.

Although Google’s rewriting will happen, optimizing your titles and meta descriptions remains useful. Generating good, relevant content increases the likelihood that Google will use your title and meta description.

Use the AI in Yoast SEO Premium to generate titles

Yoast SEO uses AI to generate titles and meta descriptions. Imagine not having to struggle with writing the perfect meta descriptions and titles. Our advanced AI does it for you! It’s designed to understand your content and create engaging titles and descriptions that boost your performance.

The AI feature of Yoast SEO helps you find awesome titles and meta descriptions quickly

Using generative AI to create powerful titles

For SEO, generative AI is a helpful tool for automating the writing of optimized titles. Using state-of-the-art generative AI models like GPT-based models, we can improve our work and generate tailor-made titles for our target audience.

Did you know?

Learn about generative AI and SEO at Yoast SEO Academy

Want to learn how to adapt SEO content strategies for AI? Looking to gain a competitive advantage by integrating AI tools? Check out our training course on AI for SEO!

How to evaluate AI-generated titles

Getting models to spit out titles is not hard, but what comes next is more important. You should check for relevance, keywords, length, uniqueness, and branding when evaluating AI-generated titles. Your titles should be effective and appropriate for your content:

Clarity and relevance: The title should accurately convey the subject and main focus of the content. It should tell what the page or article is about so that users can see how relevant it is before clicking on it.
Keyword optimization: Incorporate relevant keywords that fit the content and help search engines understand it. However, keep the title natural and readable, avoiding keyword stuffing or over-optimization.
Length and readability: The title must be within a certain length to be fully displayed. It must also be easy to read, with proper grammar and punctuation, so users can quickly understand it.
Engaging and unique: Titles that stand out are more likely to attract clicks. Use AI-generated titles that evoke curiosity, offer a benefit, or create a sense of urgency. Always try to make your titles unique and different from those of your competitors.
Brand consistency: Check if the AI-generated title aligns with your brand voice and guidelines. Make sure it represents your brand’s personality and values while being consistent across your content.

Remember, there’s still no substitute for human experience. Please take the time to manually improve the work of the generative AI tool of your choice.

Using AI-generated meta descriptions

Titles are not the only things you need to look at, as meta descriptions also play an important role. These summaries get users to click on your link and explore your website. You can optimize your meta descriptions using generative AI to be engaging, informative, and aligned with search intent.

Check the AI-generated meta description

Here are a few aspects to consider when checking AI-generated meta descriptions. In general, look for relevance, length, clickability, and if it has the correct tone of voice.

Ensure that the generated meta description accurately reflects the page’s content for relevance. Verify that the description captures the main topic or purpose of the page and includes relevant keywords or phrases that users might search for.

Looking at length and readability, you should check the length of the generated meta description. Make sure it falls within the desired character limit (around 150-160 characters). Check the readability and clarity of the text so it flows smoothly and is easy to understand for users. See if the message comes across in this short piece of text.

Clickability is important. Consider whether the generated meta description is likely to attract user clicks. Does it address the user’s search intent, highlight the page’s proposition, or create a sense of curiosity or urgency? Aim for attractive descriptions that encourage users to click through to your website.

Another aspect is tone and brand voice. Review the tone and style of the generated meta description to ensure it aligns with your brand voice and messaging guidelines. Does it accurately represent your brand’s personality and values? Make any necessary adjustments to maintain consistency.

Checking generated content using human expertise

Once you have your AI-generated titles and meta descriptions, check these for quality, relevance, and alignment with your objectives. Manual review and refinement from an expert are vital in perfecting the generated content.

Reviewing for quality and coherence

Begin your evaluation by checking the generated titles and meta descriptions for quality and coherence. Assess the language, grammatical correctness, and overall readability. Identify inconsistencies or errors that make the content difficult to understand. By making necessary edits, you improve the quality of the generated content.

Check relevance to content and context

While reviewing the generated output, evaluate its alignment with its content. Consider the specific web page and its context to ensure the generated content accurately portrays the page’s main topic, theme, or purpose and adjust where necessary.

Check brand voice and message

Like any other content, aligning the generated titles and meta descriptions with your brand’s voice, messaging, and tone is critical. Assess how the generated content reflects your brand’s personality and if it resonates with your] audience. Make edits to add your brand’s unique identity to the content while preserving readability.

Optimize keyphrase integration

See if the generated titles and meta descriptions have your target keyword phrases. Keywords play a crucial role in optimizing your content for search engine rankings. Check if the generated content naturally integrates the keywords and their variations.

Analyzing user engagement metrics

In addition to manual review, you should also analyze user engagement metrics to assess the effectiveness of the generated titles and meta descriptions. Monitor impressions, click-through rates, bounce rates, and time spent on the page to understand their impact. Compare the AI-generated content’s performance against alternative variations to determine the best-performing options.

Incorporating human input and expertise

While generative AI can help generate titles and meta descriptions, you shouldn’t underestimate the value of human expertise. Generative AI models are trained on data but lack intuition and an understanding of contextual nuances. By implementing manual review and refinement, you can add your creative insights, industry-specific knowledge, and brand context to the content.

Balancing SEO optimization and user value

Using generative AI for generating titles and meta descriptions is balancing between search engine optimization and delivering value to users. This can help your content perform well in search results while providing your audience with an engaging and meaningful experience.

Understanding user intent

To strike the right balance, understand the intent behind user searches. Analyze the keywords and search queries relevant to your content and consider users’ motivations and expectations when they land on your page.

Providing clear and concise information

When writing, please make sure your titles and meta descriptions tell what users can expect from your page. Clearly outline your content’s main topic, purpose, or value proposition. Use concise language to capture users’ attention and encourage them to click through.

Showcasing unique selling points (USPs)

Titles and meta descriptions are excellent opportunities for your unique selling points. What sets your page or product apart from the competition? Does it offer a unique perspective, in-depth analysis, or insights? By using these selling points in the content, you entice users and demonstrate the value they stand to gain by visiting your page.

Engaging and connecting with users

Titles and meta descriptions help user engagement. Use compelling language, emotional triggers, and storytelling elements that resonate with your audience. Emphasize the benefits, solutions, or outcomes users can achieve by interacting with your content. Stir curiosity or create urgency that helps users to click through and explore further.

Prioritizing readability and usability

Prioritize the readability and usability of your titles and meta descriptions. Use clear and concise language, making information easily understandable. Structure the content in a scannable format, and use proper punctuation and well-defined sections. Make sure the generated output doesn’t compromise readability by focusing solely on optimization.

AI for titles and metas, with a human in the loop

Generative AI can simplify and optimize the creation of titles and meta descriptions. You can save time, improve click-through rates, and elevate user engagement using AI. Yoast SEO Premium has a helpful AI tool that lets you generate titles and meta descriptions with the click of a button.

However, it’s crucial to remember that AI should improve human expertise, not replace it. Combine the creativity of human writers with generative AI to create titles and meta descriptions that are optimized, captivating, and valuable to users.

The post Using AI to generate great SEO titles and meta descriptions appeared first on Yoast.

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Integrating SEO into omnichannel marketing for seamless engagement

April 7, 2025/0 Comments/in Search Engine Land, Web Design News/by

With customers now discovering content across traditional search engines, LLMs, social media, and beyond, the need for an integrated, omnichannel strategy is more important than ever.

Relying on isolated channel strategies no longer works.

Customers engage with brands across multiple touchpoints before making decisions, and they expect seamless, personalized experiences.

An effective omnichannel approach aligns all marketing efforts – ensuring consistency, maximizing visibility, and driving meaningful interactions.

As omnichannel marketing continues to evolve, integrating SEO across all channels is essential for sustained growth.

This article explores why a unified strategy is critical and how SEO can work across channels to enhance the customer journey and drive results.

Why an omnichannel approach to SEO is critical in 2025

Here are seven trends that make an omnichannel approach vital to business success and growth.

1. The shift away from third-party cookies

The decline of third-party cookies has made it harder for brands to track users across the buyer journey.

An omnichannel approach to data collection and centralization helps mitigate these challenges and lays the foundation for an effective strategy.

2. Growth of LLMs and AI-powered search

The growth of alternate avenues for audiences to find information adds to the complexity of the buyer’s journey.

This presents additional attribution challenges.

3. Zero-click searches and decreasing top-funnel traffic

Due to the rise in zero-click searches, traffic to websites from top-of-the-funnel information-seeking terms is declining.

4. Importance of SEO

Despite the growth in zero-click searches, SEO remains the primary source of traffic for most businesses and the channel with the highest long-term ROI.

AI Overviews and AI-generated results mainly pull information from the top organic results.

5. Search is multi-modal

This means written content is not the only content you need to optimize.

To effectively saturate SERPs, you must optimize all your digital assets, including images, videos, and PDFs.

6. Personalized experiences

Personalization is key to customer engagement. Up to 71% of consumers expect it, while 76% find generic content frustrating, per a McKinsey study.

Businesses that prioritize personalized marketing can see up to a 40% increase in revenue.

An omnichannel approach ensures marketers focus on customer intent rather than marketing channels.

7. Unified customer experience with agent economy

The growth of artificial intelligence has resulted in the emergence of an agent economy, where AI agents are beginning to revolutionize marketing and digital experiences.

They can easily connect dots across multiple channels to deliver a unified customer experience.

Tackling the visibility dilemma in customer journeys

With all the changes in the industry, consumer behavior, and technological advancements, we need to answer important questions that marketers are confused about.

How can you learn about audience intent even when they do not visit the site after a search?
How do you gather data on your audience’s behavior after they leave your site if they do not convert during their first visit?
How can you develop effective SEO, paid, zero-click, and content strategies with limited visibility into the customer journey and insights into customer intent and personas?
How can you provide personalized experiences without third-party data, limited traffic, and visibility into your customers’ journeys?

This is where an omnichannel approach can help businesses enhance visibility, drive meaningful interactions, and create a seamless path to conversion.

Building blocks of an omnichannel strategy

A true omnichannel strategy is no longer limited to traditional marketing channels like SEO, paid, email, social media, etc.

Today, it is about delivering a unified experience at every stage in the customer journey at every touchpoint.

It includes effectively using channel-agnostic strategies and tactics, such as personalization, AI agents, conversion optimization, A-B testing, and co-optimization.

Here are five building blocks for creating an omnichannel strategy that truly engages your audiences consistently across touchpoints in an AI-powered world.

Reliable data

Ensure you have the necessary infrastructure to gather and segment customer data accurately.

AI can then be layered to:

Build audience cohorts.
Predict user journeys.
Deliver real-time personalized experiences.

Dig deeper: How to boost your marketing revenue with personalization, connectivity and data

Artificial intelligence

Having an organizational AI strategy is key to ensuring the effective use of AI, not just for content generation but also for improving:

Efficiency.
Process automation.
Customer data segmentation.
Forecasting.
Real-time personalization at scale.
And more.

Dig deeper: 4 pillars of an effective enterprise AI strategy

Digital assets

Having a digital asset manager that lets you centralize, optimize, and distribute all your digital assets across marketing channels is key to ensuring consistency and reducing duplication.

Dig deeper: Visual optimization must-haves for AI-powered search

Infrastructure

Search-friendly infrastructure and content management system are crucial for effectively crawling and indexing your content, and delivering an engaging, personalized experience to your visitors.

Dig deeper: How to select a CMS that powers SEO, personalization and growth

Structured data and entity optimization

All search engines, including LLMs, detect entities within your content to understand what your content is all about.

Structured data – or schema markup – helps search engines detect entities and all your digital assets.

This helps maximize your content visibility and SERP saturation.

Dig deeper: Future-proof your SERP presence: 6 areas to focus on

Get the newsletter search marketers rely on.

Business email address

See terms.

9 steps to integrating SEO into an omnichannel customer journey

You can start developing your omnichannel strategy while closing any gaps you have identified in the building blocks.

Step 1: Audience and intent mapping

Start with your audience and intent. Identifying target audience personas and their intent is the first step in audience mapping. It is important to review:

Content performance: Evaluate performance of page types or templates to understand gaps in content strategy (e.g., category pages vs. product details pages vs. location pages vs. blog content).
Search engagement insights: Search console data can help identify high-intent terms with low click-through rates. This information can inform zero-click and CTR optimization strategies.
Channel overlaps: Identifying how visitors overlap across channels is key to crafting an integrated and unified experience. For example, paid and organic channels must work together to saturate the full funnel and maximize ROI from both channels.
Conversion optimization: Content with high engagement can provide insights into visitor intent. This can help define A-B tests, UI/UX enhancements, and personalization strategies.

Step 2: Define clear strategic goals

The next step is to have clear and smart goals that you want your omnichannel strategy to achieve:

Set specific, measurable business objectives (revenue growth, customer retention, growing market share, etc.)
Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) for channel-specific and overall performance. For example, if the goal is to improve visibility, the primary KPIs should be around impressions, clicks and rich results visibility. Traffic or conversions can be secondary KPIs but should not be the primary success criteria.
Create baseline metrics to measure improvement against current performance.
Develop a measurement framework that accounts for cross-channel attribution challenges.

Step 3: Map the customer journey across all touchpoints

Traditional funnel is changing rapidly.

Brands should be ready to respond to customers across all touchpoints fast and with quality.

Develop a comprehensive understanding of how customers interact with your brand:

Create detailed personas representing your target audience segments.
Identify patterns in cross-channel journeys using path analysis in analytics and create common use cases.
Aggregate and centralize data across customer touchpoints (website analytics, CRM, sales data, app usage, etc.)
Segment customers based on behavioral patterns rather than just demographics.
Quantify the value/attribution as a combination of different journey paths and touchpoints.
Measure channel preference and effectiveness across different customer segments.

Step 4: Omnichannel audit

Based on your goals and journey maps, evaluate your current channel gaps and capabilities:

SEO audit: Analyze search visibility metrics, technical health scores, and overall SEO performance.
Content audit: Measure content performance data, topical and entity coverage, competitive gaps, engagement rates, conversion impact, and cross-channel content effectiveness.
Local presence assessment: Evaluate local search visibility metrics and location-specific engagement.
Experience audit: Analyze drop-off points and measure cross-channel friction.
Data and technology assessment: Evaluate data collection and measurement framework to optimize your data infrastructure.
Full-funnel audit: Learn from your visitors. Past visitor data can provide meaningful insights into audience segments, what visitors engage with, and where they drop off in the conversion funnel. This can help identify opportunities for co-optimization, A-B tests and delivering personalized experiences across channels.

Step 5: Develop your integrated channel strategy

Here, focus on aligning your channels to ensure they work together seamlessly and support your overall business goals.

Prioritize channels according to attribution data and customer value metrics.
Leverage machine learning and predictive analytics to forecast the impact of each channel.
Use predictive analytics to determine the optimal channel mix.
Set channel-specific targets that ladder up to overall business objectives.
Create frameworks for continuously testing and validating channel effectiveness.
Define how channels will complement and support each other across the customer journey.

Step 6: Content orchestration strategy

While a content strategy focuses on what content is needed, a content orchestration strategy also encompasses distribution frameworks that enhance audience interaction with your content.

Friction analysis

Analyze how your audience engages with your content to identify friction points. This process helps you identify, rectify, and optimize:

Inconsistencies.
Intent misalignments.
Delivery mechanisms (text, images, video, etc.).

Content intelligence

Assess the performance of your existing content across various channels and identify competitive gaps and opportunities based on audience personas and business goals.

Here are a few steps to evaluate content gaps and refine your strategy:

Identify underperforming content for optimization.
Spot gaps in content that need to be addressed across channels and stages of the customer journey.
Recognize cross-linking opportunities to create content hubs.
Prioritize new content to close competitive gaps and achieve business goals.

Cross-channel content strategy

After identifying friction points and content gaps, develop a tailored content strategy for each channel, prioritizing based on business goals:

Broader informational content to enhance awareness during the discovery stage of the customer journey (e.g., social media, blog content).
Comparison content for the consideration stage (e.g., product pages).
Landing pages focused on specific buying-intent terms during the conversion stage.

Content optimization

Optimizing content extends beyond targeting the right keywords. Your content optimization strategy should include:

Closing topical gaps in content that create friction.
Developing an entity optimization strategy to maximize content discoverability.
Implementing a click-through rate (CTR) strategy to enhance traffic from discovered content.
Optimizing visual content.
Establishing an engagement and conversion optimization strategy that includes personalization, calls to action optimization, A/B testing, messaging strategies, UI/UX optimization, and conversion rate optimization (CRO).

Dig deeper: The complete guide to optimizing content for SEO (with checklist)

Step 7: Infrastructure and technical SEO

To give your content the best chance of being crawled, indexed, understood, and featured in search results for the right terms, focus on the following:

Fix technical SEO issues related to crawling, indexing, and user experience.
Ensure mobile optimization across all digital properties.
Deploy nested schema markup to enhance search visibility.
Improve page speed for all web properties and optimize Core Web Vitals.
Test cross-device compatibility.
Implement proper canonicalization for multi-regional brands.
Prioritize web accessibility by following ADA and WCAG guidelines to enhance user experience and search visibility.

Step 8: Engagement and conversion optimization

Utilize unified customer data to enhance user engagement and drive conversions:

Deliver personalized content at scale for each audience segment in real time. Personalization strategies can be based on various factors such as marketing channel or campaign, visitor location, search intent, and past behavior.
Identify and deploy AI agents that assist audiences in quickly finding information, engaging in meaningful interactions, and making real-time decisions.
Develop remarketing strategies informed by visitor behavior.
Implement A/B testing across channels, ensuring consistent test and control groups.
Measure performance across channels and optimize based on business goals and success KPIs.

Step 9: Continuously test, measure, learn, and optimize

Refine your strategy through ongoing testing and data-driven adjustments to improve performance across all channels.

Monitor performance metrics across all channels. Establish BI dashboards that connect and integrate data across channels.
Implement attribution models that effectively account for complex customer journeys.
Regularly test new channel integrations and enhancements to the customer journey.
Gather feedback from customers regarding their cross-channel experiences.
Refine your strategy based on evolving search engine algorithms and changing customer behavior.

SEO’s role in delivering a unified, cross-channel experience

Integrating SEO into the omnichannel customer journey isn’t simply for improving search presence.

Ultimately, it’s about creating discoverable, unified, and personalized experiences that guide customers naturally toward conversion.

By implementing this nine-step framework, you can:

Break down departmental silos.
Align cross-functional teams around customer needs.
Build truly seamless engagement models that drive sustainable growth.

Read more at Read More

Indexing and SEO: 9 steps to get your content indexed by Google and Bing

April 1, 2025/0 Comments/in Search Engine Land, Web Design News/by

Sick of seeing the error “Discovered – currently not indexed” in Google Search Console (GSC)?

So am I.

Too much SEO effort is focused on ranking.

But many sites would benefit from looking one level up – to indexing.

Why?

Because your content can’t compete until it’s indexed.

Whether the selection system is ranking or retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), your content won’t matter unless it’s indexed.

The same goes for where it appears – traditional SERPs, AI-generated SERPs, Discover, Shopping, News, Gemini, ChatGPT, or whatever AI agents come next.

Without indexing, there’s no visibility, no clicks, and no impact.

And indexing issues are, unfortunately, very common.

Based on my experience working with hundreds of enterprise-level sites, an average of 9% of valuable deep content pages (products, articles, listings, etc.) fail to get indexed by Google and Bing.

Percentage of page types not indexed by Google and Bing

So, how do you ensure your deep content gets indexed?

Follow these nine proven steps to accelerate the process and maximize your site’s visibility.

Step 1: Audit your content for indexing issues

A sitemap for each deep content page type

In Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, submit a separate sitemap for each page type:

One for products.
One for articles.
One for videos.
And so on.

After submitting a sitemap, it may take a few days to appear in the Pages interface.

Use this interface to filter and analyze how much of your content has been excluded from indexing and, more importantly, the specific reasons why.

All indexing issues fall into three main categories:

Poor SEO directives
- These issues stem from technical missteps, such as:
  - Pages blocked by robots.txt.
  - Incorrect canonical tags.
  - Noindex directives.
  - 404 errors.
  - Or 301 redirects.
- The solution is straightforward: remove these pages from your sitemap.
Low content quality
- If submitted pages are showing soft 404 or content quality issues, first ensure all SEO-relevant content is rendered server-side.
- Once confirmed, focus on improving the content’s value – enhance the depth, relevance, and uniqueness of the page.
Processing issues
- These are more complex and typically result in exclusions like “Discovered – currently not indexed” or “Crawled – currently not indexed.”

While the first two categories can often be resolved relatively quickly, processing issues demand more time and attention.

By using sitemap indexing data as benchmarks, you can track your progress in improving your site’s indexing performance.

Dig deeper: The 4 stages of search all SEOs need to know

Step 2: Submit a news sitemap for faster article indexing

For article indexing in Google, be sure to submit a News sitemap.

This specialized sitemap includes specific tags designed to speed up the indexing of articles published within the last 48 hours.

Importantly, your content doesn’t need to be traditionally “newsy” to benefit from this submission method.

Step 3: Use Google Merchant Center feeds to improve product indexing

While this applies only to Google and specific categories, submitting your products to Google Merchant Center can significantly improve indexing.

Ensure your entire active product catalog is added and kept up to date.

Dig deeper: How to optimize your ecommerce site for better indexing

Step 4: Submit an RSS feed to speed up crawling

Create an RSS feed that includes content published in the last 48 hours.

Submit this feed in the Sitemaps section of both Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.

This works effectively because RSS feeds, by their nature, are crawled more frequently than traditional XML sitemaps.

Plus, indexers still respond to WebSub pings for RSS feeds – a protocol no longer supported for XML sitemaps.

To maximize benefits, ensure your development team integrates WebSub.

Step 5: Leverage indexing APIs for faster discovery

Integrate both IndexNow (unlimited) and the Google Indexing API (limited to 200 API calls per day unless you can secure a quota increase).

Officially, the Google Indexing API is only for pages with job posting or broadcast event markup.

(Note: The keyword “officially.” I’ll leave it to you to decide if you wish to test it.)

Get the newsletter search marketers rely on.

Business email address

See terms.

Step 6: Strengthen internal linking to boost indexing signals

The primary way most indexers discover content is through links.

URLs with stronger link signals are prioritized higher in the crawl queue and carry more indexing power.

While external links are valuable, internal linking is the real game-changer for indexing large sites with thousands of deep content pages.

Your related content blocks, pagination, breadcrumbs, and especially the links displayed on your homepage are prime optimization points for Googlebot and Bingbot.

When it comes to the homepage, you can’t link every deep content page – but you don’t need to.

Focus on those that are not yet indexed. Here’s how:

When a new URL is published, check it against the log files.
As soon as you see Googlebot crawl the URL for the first time, ping the Google Search Console Inspection API.
If the response is “URL is unknown to Google,” “Crawled, not indexed,” or “Discovered, not indexed,” add the URL to a dedicated feed that populates a section on your homepage.
Re-check the URL periodically. Once indexed, remove it from the homepage feed to maintain relevance and focus on other non-indexed content.

This effectively creates a real-time RSS feed of non-indexed content linked from the homepage, leveraging its authority to accelerate indexing.

Step 7: Block non-SEO relevant URLs from crawlers

Audit your log files regularly and block high-crawl, no-value URL paths using a robots.txt disallow.

Pages such as faceted navigation, search result pages, tracking parameters, and other irrelevant content can:

Distract crawlers.
Create duplicate content.
Split ranking signals.
Ultimately downgrade the indexer’s view of your site quality.

However, a robots.txt disallow alone is not enough.

If these pages have internal links, traffic, or other ranking signals, indexers may still index them.

To prevent this:

In addition to disallowing the route in robots.txt, apply rel=”nofollow” to all possible links pointing to these pages.
Ensure this is done not only on-site but also in transactional emails and other communication channels to prevent indexers from ever discovering the URL.

Dig deeper: Crawl budget: What you need to know in 2025

Step 8: Use 304 responses to help crawlers prioritize new content

For most sites, the bulk of crawling is invested in refreshing already indexed content.

When a site returns a 200 response code, indexers redownload the content and compare it against their existing cache.

While this is valuable when content has changed, it’s not necessary for most pages.

For content that hasn’t been updated, return a 304 HTTP response code (“Not Modified”).

This tells crawlers the page hasn’t changed, allowing indexers to allocate resources to content discovery instead.

Step 9: Manually request indexing for hard-to-index pages

For stubborn URLs that remain non-indexed, manually submit them in Google Search Console.

However, keep in mind that there is a limit of 10 submissions per day, so use them wisely.

From my testing, manual submissions in Bing Webmaster Tools offer no significant advantage over submissions via the IndexNow API.

Therefore, it’s more efficient to use the API.

Maximize your site’s visibility in Google and Bing

If your content isn’t indexed, it’s invisible. Don’t let valuable pages sit in limbo.

Prioritize the steps relevant to your content type, take a proactive approach to indexing, and unlock the full potential of your content.

Dig deeper: Why 100% indexing isn’t possible, and why that’s OK

Read more at Read More

Data providers: Google March 2025 core update had similar volatility to the previous update

April 1, 2025/0 Comments/in Search Engine Land, Web Design News/by

The Google March 2025 core update finished rolling out over a 14-day period, starting on March 13, 2025, and completed about 14 days later on March 27, 2025. This March core update took about a week longer than Google’s December 2024 core update, which started December 12, 2024 and completed about 6 days later on December 18, 2024.

Please understand that if a core update impacts a site, it can result in a huge change for that site’s search visibility. So, I do not want to diminish any core updates, including the March core update; those could have been really big for you or the sites you manage.

Data providers on the Google March 2025 core update

Semrush. Semrush (our parent company) was the first to send us data that seemed to show that the Google March 2025 core update had similar volatility than the previous core update, the December 2024 core update. Keep in mind that the December 2024 core update was more volatile than the November 2024 core update, based on the data.

If you glance at the Semrush Senor, you can see the overall volatility the tool reported over that time period:

Mordy Oberstein, who sent me the data from Semrush, told me the two were of “similar in size” when comparing the volatility. He sent me this chart showing the volatility of the past two core updates, broken down by vertical. It shows the peak volatility numbers were pretty similar between the two updates:

If you look at overall ranking volatility change comparison, you can see that the Health sector saw a much bigger change, for some reason:

But when you compare this to the baseline rank volatility, both the December and March core updates were within very similar ranges, Mordy Obertstein told us. “There’s a mere .1 difference between the two,” Obertstein added. Obertstein said he has a theory, which he will share at his session at SMX Advanced, on why he thinks that this update hit different verticals differently.

When you dive into the top ten results, you can see a notable change in what ranking changes there were between these two past core updates:

Similarweb. Similarweb’s SERP Seismometer showed the spikes in volatility cooled down with the March update. You can see it get a bit more volatile on March 13th, 14th and 15th but then start to cool again as the core update rolled out.

Darrel Mordechai from SimilarWeb told us the March 2025 core update was not the most volatile core update they’ve seen and compared to the December core update, it showed “similar levels of volatility.”

Here is a chart showing the core update volatility by average position change for the past core updates, as documented by Similarweb:

Here is when you zoom in comparing the March 2025 and December 2024 core updates, they are super close:

The current update showed slightly lower fluctuations in the top three positions but increased volatility across the top five. Here is where you can see that in this chart:

When you compare it by vertical or niche, you can see the volatility the March 2025 core update caused across the health, finance, retail, travel and finance industries. You can see the finance industry showed the highest levels of fluctuation, particularly in the top five results. In contrast, the travel industry experienced notably low volatility in the top three positions.

seoClarity. The folks at seoClarity also sent me some winners and losers reports, showing the biggest winners and losers from February to March 2025:

Other tools. There are a lot of Google search ranking volatility tools. Here is what they looked like after the core update finished rolling out and over the course of the update:

Mozcast:

Algoroo:

Advanced Web Rankings:

Accuranker:

Cognitive SEO:

Wincher:

Mangools (looks broken?):

Sistrix:

Data For SEO:

SERPstat:

Industry. The initial rollout seemed to kick in within a few days after the update was announced. Some sites saw big swings both up and down, in terms, of ranking improvements or decline. But this update did not seem as widespread as some previous core updates, where it had a wider impact on a more diverse site of sites. That is not to say this update was not big for those who were impacted by it – it 100% was very big for those sites.

During the update, some of the tracking tools were tripped up by some Google Search result page changes. That may make it hard for some to track the impact of this update. But you can use Google Search Console to see your impact for your site and see position changes for your most popular keywords.

Then, we saw some additional volatility spike at the tail end of this update.

What to do if you are hit. Google has given advice on what to consider if you are negatively impacted by a core update in the past. Google has not really given much new advice here.

There aren’t specific actions to take to recover. A negative rankings impact may not signal anything is wrong with your pages.
Google has offered a list of questions to consider if your site is hit by a core update.
Google said you can see a bit of a recovery between core updates but the biggest change would be after another core update.

In short, write helpful content for people and not to rank in search engines.

“There’s nothing new or special that creators need to do for this update as long as they’ve been making satisfying content meant for people. For those that might not be ranking as well, we strongly encourage reading our creating helpful, reliable, people-first content help page,” Google said previously.

More on Google updates

You can read more of our coverage in Search Engine Land’s Google Algorithm Updates history.

Why we care. While the data above shows how sites in general are doing with the last core update, it does not represent how your individual site did with the update. If your site was hit by this past update, it can be devastating. If you were hit by previous updates and so no improvement with this update, then again, devastating once again. But some sites saw big improvements.

Feel free to compare this to our December core update report.

We hope you saw improvements with this March 2025 coe update.

Read more at Read More

Social media optimization with Yoast SEO

April 1, 2025/0 Comments/in Web Design News, Yoast SEO/by

Are you tired of your social media efforts not achieving the results you hoped for? It might be time to scale up your social media optimization efforts. Your content might be good, but you could do various enhancements to make it stand out. For instance, your content needs proper metadata for X, Facebook, and the like to appear properly on each platform. Yoast SEO can help you do this quickly.

Sharing your freshly written (or optimized) content on social media is important. It helps you stay in touch with your audience and update them on news about your business and related topics. But to get their attention, you need to optimize your social media posts before you share them.

In this article, we’ll explain how you can optimize your posts for Facebook and X, and how our plugin can help you with that! Lastly, we’ll briefly discuss Pinterest and the use of Rich Pins.

What is social media optimization?

Social media optimization is about improving how you use social media platforms to build your online presence. You do this not only by creating and sharing content for every platform you’d like to be active on but also by optimizing that content in such a way that you get traffic to your site. The goal is to build strong connections with your audience and to keep them engaged.

Social media optimization starts with well-optimized, highly relevant content that grabs attention. For most platforms, images and video are best suited for this. You can test various formats and ideas to see what your audience prefers. You can use any of the social media analytics tools to do this. Also, find the best times to publish your content to get the best engagement. Your posts should also have metadata for specific platforms like X Cards or OpenGraph for Facebook to help these platforms understand your content.

After posting, remember to engage with your audience. Respond to comments, participate in discussions, and listen to what people say about you and your content. Track your best-performing posts and use data to improve your content to stay relevant and engaging.

Promoting your content on various platforms makes sense in most cases. Remember to share your articles, videos, and other content on whatever social media network makes sense for you and your audience. Read this article if you don’t know where to begin with your social media strategy.

Facebook and other social media

Years ago, Facebook introduced OpenGraph to determine which elements of your page you want to show when someone shares that page. Several social networks and search engines use Facebook’s OpenGraph, but the main reason for adding it is for Facebook itself. Facebook’s OpenGraph support is continuously evolving, but the basics are simple. With a few pieces of metadata, you declare:

What type of content is this?
What’s the locale?
What’s the canonical URL of the page?
What’s the name of the site and the title of the page?
What’s the page about?
Which image/images should be shown when this post or page is shared on Facebook?

Social media preview in Yoast SEO

When you use Yoast SEO, most of the values above are filled out automatically based on your post’s data. It uses the locale of your site, the site’s name, SEO title, the canonical, the meta description value, etc, to fill out most of the required OpenGraph tags. You can see what your post will look like when you click on ‘Social media appearance’ in the Yoast SEO sidebar:

You’ll notice the Social media appearance button in the sidebar opening the modal for the feature

This preview tab allows you to edit how your Facebook post is shown when shared. Our plugin lets you change your social image, title, and description in your preview. This makes your social media optimization much quicker and easier, as you won’t have to leave your post to make these changes.

Make more impact on social media with Yoast SEO Premium!

Get Yoast SEO Premium today and make it quick and easy to manage how your social media snippets look.

Get Yoast SEO Premium Only $99 / year (ex VAT)

If you use the options for social media optimization in Yoast SEO, your Facebook post could look like this when you share the URL of a post or page:

Example of a Facebook post as seen on Yoast’s profile

So what do you need to do?

First, go to Yoast SEO → Settings → Site representation, and fill in your social media accounts.
Afterward, go to Yoast SEO → Settings → Social sharing, and make sure OpenGraph is enabled.
Then, set a good default image under the site basics settings. This image is used when you have a post or page that does not contain an image. It’s important to set this image to ensure that every post or page has an image when shared. Facebook is forgiving when uploading images, but 1200px by 630px should work well.
Lastly, follow the steps in this article to go to your personal WordPress profile and add a link to your Facebook profile, if you want to associate your Facebook profile with your content. If you do, be sure to also enable the ‘Follow’ functionality on Facebook.

You can complete all of these steps in a few minutes. After that, Yoast SEO takes all of the work out of your hands. However, it is important to remember that Facebook sometimes doesn’t immediately pick up changes. So, if you want to “debug” how Facebook perceives your page, enter your URL in the Facebook Sharing Debugger and click the Debug button. If the preview that you see there isn’t the latest version, you can try the Scrape again button. But remember that it can take a while for Facebook to see your changes.

OpenGraph for Video Content

If you have video content, you must do more work unless you use our Video SEO plugin. This plugin handles all the needed metadata and lets you share your videos on Facebook.

X

X’s functionality is quite similar to Facebook’s. The name of this functionality is X Cards. X “falls back” on Facebook OpenGraph for several of these values, so we don’t have to include everything. But it still is quite a bit. We’re talking about:

the type of content/type of card
an image
a description
the X account of the site/publisher
the X account of the author
the “name” for the domain to show in an X card

X preview in Yoast SEO

As you might have seen in Yoast SEO, optimizing your X listings is also an option. Simply click that tab to preview how your page appears when it gets shared to X. By default, the plugin uses the title, description and image you enter in the search appearance preview. Of course, this tab allows you to change these for your Twitter post.

Here’s an example of what your post could look like with all the required metadata our plugin helps you add:

An example of a post on Yoast’s X profile

So what do you need to do?

Ensure X card metadata is enabled by going to Yoast SEO → Settings → Site features → Social sharing and activating the X feature. This leaves a couple of values for you to fill out in the settings, which you can do using this guide on activating X Cards in Yoast SEO.

Use templates for social media snippets

Do you spend a lot of time tweaking the preview appearance of each page or post? You’ll be glad to know that Yoast SEO Premium also offers a very helpful feature: the ability to set default templates for your social snippets. With this powerful feature, you can design the ideal social appearance for all your content and feel certain that the output will always look great to whoever is sharing it.

Use variables to set up templates to optimize your social media postings

What about Pinterest?

Pinterest’s Rich Pins allow for OpenGraph markup as well. Add variables like product name, availability, price, and currency to your page to create a rich pin. As this is mainly interesting for products, we decided to add functionalities to create rich pins to our Yoast WooCommerce SEO plugin.

Conclusion on social media optimization

So, go ahead and use Yoast SEO to optimize your social media. It isn’t very hard; it just takes a few minutes of your time, and you will reap the rewards immediately. As these social networks add new features, we’ll keep our plugin and this article up-to-date. So, be sure to update the Yoast SEO plugin regularly.

Keep reading: Social Media Strategy: where to begin? »

The post Social media optimization with Yoast SEO appeared first on Yoast.

Read more at Read More

How to Use ChatGPT to Get 10X Better Answers

March 31, 2025/0 Comments/in Web Design News/by

This guide will show you how to use ChatGPT the right way.

Brand new to using it?

I’ll help you skip the rookie mistakes that leave most beginners frustrated.

Tried it before and had an average experience?

No problem. You’ll learn how to refine your approach to get useful, high-quality responses (finally).

Because here’s the thing:

ChatGPT IS a powerful tool. But only if you know how to use it effectively.

Let’s make that happen.

What is ChatGPT (And What Can It Do)?

ChatGPT is an AI assistant that answers your questions like a human would.

It can also generate ideas and assist with writing, problem-solving, and research tasks.

How does it do this?

It analyzes lots of books, web pages, and conversations — this is its training data.

Then, it predicts the most relevant response.

Think of it as a brilliant researcher who’s read millions of books and the entire internet.

It can recall any facts and instantly connect ideas to generate the most relevant answer.

(We talk more about how generative AI works in this article.)

So, what can ChatGPT do?

A surprising number of things.

It can help you:

Brainstorm blog post topics
Plan your content strategy
Debug code snippets
Translate marketing copy into multiple languages
Explain blood test results in simple terms

Plus, depending on the model you’re using (more on that below), it can also:

Generate images using DALL·E:

And handle voice interactions.

ChatGPT Models

OpenAI (the company behind ChatGPT) regularly updates ChatGPT with new training data.

That’s why there are different ChatGPT models.

Each one is optimized for different tasks.

Model	Best For
GPT-4.5	Advanced model for reasoning and creativity. Better pattern recognition.
GPT-4o	General and professional use. Also good for coding & deep analysis. Multimodal.
GPT-4o mini	Everyday tasks. Gives responses faster but lacks advanced tools.
o3-mini	Coding and advanced reasoning, great for problem-solving & logic tasks
o1 & o1-mini	Complex problem-solving but lacks memory and search
GPT-4o with Scheduled Tasks (BETA)	AI automation

ChatGPT Limitations

It’s no secret.

ChatGPT makes things up sometimes (aka a “hallucination).

It’s not really thinking for itself.

Instead, it predicts words based on patterns in its training data.

And sometimes, those predictions are completely wrong.

For example, Łukasz Białozor, an AI consultant, asked:

Who was the sole survivor of the Titanic?

Instead of correcting the prompt, ChatGPT named one person—even though 706 people survived.

Bias is another issue.

AI models like ChatGPT reflect societal biases that exist in their training data. Here’s a simple way to see this in action:

Ask it to draw a nurse. You’ll likely get a woman.

Now, ask it to draw a CEO. You’ll probably see a man.

Here’s what I got:

This gender bias isn’t just limited to images. ChatGPT can perpetuate stereotypes and biases around:

Gender roles and professions
Cultural perspectives
Socioeconomic assumptions
Historical narratives
Geographic representation

For example, when asked about “traditional family values” or “successful business practices,” ChatGPT might default to Western, male-dominated perspectives without acknowledging other viewpoints.

What does this mean for you?

Always cross-reference important facts from multiple sources
Be aware that ChatGPT’s responses may reflect societal biases
Ask follow-up questions to get different perspectives
Use ChatGPT as a starting point, not the final authority
Consider whose viewpoints might be missing from its responses

Remember: ChatGPT is an incredibly powerful tool, but it’s trained on human-created data—which means it inherits human biases. So, use it wisely by staying critical and conscious of these limitations.

How to Use ChatGPT: Step-by-Step Beginners Guide

If you’re new to ChatGPT, getting started is easy.

You’ll be using it like a pro in just a few steps.

Step 1: Choose the Right ChatGPT Account Type

There are three ways to access ChatGPT, depending on what you need.

Guest Access

You can try ChatGPT right away with “Guest Access.” No need to sign up.

Just go to chatgpt.com, and start chatting.

It lets you ask questions and even search the web.

But your conversations won’t be saved.

Once you close the page, everything disappears.

If you’re testing it out, “Guest Access” is fine.

But if you want ChatGPT to act like a real assistant, you’ll need an account.

Free Account

A free account gives you more features and better answers.

For example, the “Reason” feature helps it think before answering, so you get sharper, more accurate responses.

You can also upload files like PDFs and spreadsheets, making it easy to work with large documents.

Another benefit?

Your chat history saves.

You can return to past conversations and pick up where you left off.

Another big benefit is that you can customize ChatGPT responses.

(More on that below.)

So, every time it responds to your questions, it answers in a way that matches your style.

How to Sign Up for Free

Go to chatgpt.com. Click “Sign up.”

Enter a valid email address or sign in using Google, Microsoft, or Apple.

Create a password.

Then, add your name and birthday (both are required).

And finally, choose if you want ChatGPT to remember your conversations (you can change this later).

That’s it. You’re set.

Paid Subscription

If you use ChatGPT a lot, consider upgrading to ChatGPT Plus for $20/month.

This gives you access to all ChatGPT models, including the latest and most advanced versions.

You even get 10 “Deep Research” searches per month.

This allows ChatGPT to search multiple web sources in one query.

You give it one prompt, and it’ll independently search websites, read research papers, compare products, and more.

It’s great when you need to research and visit many websites, such as when you’re comparing products before you buy.

Or when you need to go through scientific journals for research.

Oh, and another benefit?

Faster responses, even during peak hours (7 AM to 5 PM ET).

While free users wait, you keep chatting without interruptions.

Step 2: Tweak the Default Settings

ChatGPT works great out of the box, but a few tweaks can make it even better.

ChatGPT Memory: On or Off?

When you first sign up, you’ll be asked if you want to turn memory on.

But you’re not locked into that choice.

You can change this anytime at:

“Profile” (top right) > “Settings” > “Personalization.”

Turn memory on, and ChatGPT will learn from your past conversations.

You won’t have to repeat yourself every time you start a new chat.

Over time, it’ll remember details and give you more relevant responses.

Turn memory off and every session starts fresh.

This is great if you prefer more privacy.

Or don’t want past conversations influencing future replies.

You can also erase stored memories.

Click “Manage memories” in the “Personalization” window.

And you’ll see a new window where you can erase all memories or delete specific ones.

Personalizing ChatGPT: Make It Work Your Way

ChatGPT doesn’t have to sound the same for everyone.

You can easily customize it.

Just go to “Profile” (at the top right) > “Customize ChatGPT.”

Then, enter basic details like your name and profession.

Next, customize ChatGPT’s personality.

You can specify:

Tone: Friendly, casual, professional?
Response length: Brief and direct or in-depth?
Persona: Strategist, a teacher, or something else?

For example, if you want it to write in Backlinko style, you could type:

Write in the Backlinko writing style. Be direct and cut the fluff. Every sentence should be actionable. Do not use long complicated words when a simpler, shorter word exists.

If you’re not sure what to write, you can ask ChatGPT.

Here’s one way you can do that using your brand’s messaging document.

Upload the brand guide to ChatGPT and write:

Attached is [YOUR BRAND’S] content guideline. In under 1,500 characters, summarize [YOUR BRAND’S] voice, tone, and personality.

Advanced tip: I’ve noticed that ChatGPT doesn’t always stick to the personality I want. If you see that, too, do this:

First, give it this instruction.

“You have different personas. When I write [keyword], use that persona.”

Then, define the persona:

For example, for Backlinko, I write:

“[backlinko]: Be direct. Write clearly. Use short, punchy sentences with a confident tone. Make it easy to skim and focus on real, tested advice. Skip the jargon and write using the active voice. Keep the language simple (6th-grade level).”

Now, whenever I want ChatGPT to respond in Backlinko’s style, I start the chat with [backlinko].

The great thing about this?

You can add multiple personas for different tasks. And then you just add [keyword] to call that persona into the chat.

Some of my favorites include:

[80/20]: Focus only on the 20% of knowledge or actions that drive 80% of results. Prioritize key takeaways.

[teacher]: Break concepts into step-by-step explanations with real-world examples, analogies, and case studies.

The final section in customization is “What should ChatGPT know about you?”

Here, you personalize ChatGPT to your life and work.

What should you add?

Think about how you’ll be using it, then add relevant instructions.

For example, if you’re vegetarian with some dietary restrictions and you often use it for meal planning, you can write:

My family is vegetarian. One of our children has a peanut allergy, and the other doesn’t eat onions. Always make sure that the meals you create follow these restrictions.

Here’s another example if you use ChatGPT for work.

Say you have an ecommerce store.

You could add:

I sell handcrafted plant baskets made from sustainable materials. I have customers all over the world who are eco-conscious. I write in a warm but expert tone. I’m knowledgeable but never preachy. I have a small marketing budget. I do mostly organic content and paid ads.

Control Your Privacy

By default, OpenAI may use your conversations to improve the model.

If you’d rather keep chats private, you can turn this off.

Go to “Profile” > “Settings” > “Data Controls” and toggle “Improve the model for everyone.”

ChatGPT – Improve the model for everyone

Once you do this, it won’t use your conversations for training.

And that’s it.

Your AI is now customized for you.

Go test ChatGPT with a few questions.

And see how well it adjusts based on your customizations.

Still not customized the way you want it?

Go back to settings and keep refining.

Step 3: Learn to Write Better Prompts

If you want high-quality answers from ChatGPT, you need to write better prompts.

Bland or generic answers usually mean a prompting problem.

Why?

Because when you give ChatGPT a vague question, it has to fill in the gaps.

And from what I’ve seen, it plays it safe by giving you the most generic explanations.

You don’t want that.

So how do you fix it?

Let’s get Google to help.

In its prompting guide, Google states that a good, detailed prompt includes four elements:

Task: What you want ChatGPT to do (explain, analyze, compare)
Context: Relevant background info (who, what, where, why)
Persona: The role ChatGPT should take (expert, teacher, consultant)
Format: How the response should be structured (step-by-step, bullet points, examples)

Adding just task + context makes a big difference.

Use all four, and you get much better answers.

Let me show you the difference in answer quality between a basic and an optimized prompt.

A basic prompt:

Give me unique marketing tips for a tour guide.

What do you get?

A generic list that can work for any tour guide anywhere in the world:

Now, add task + specific context:

ChatGPT – Prompt – Unique marketing strategies

Since ChatGPT has specific details to work with, the answer is more relevant.

We’re not done yet.

How about using all four elements using this prompt?

Act as a tourism marketing expert with 20 years of experience. I’ve just started a tour company in Málaga, Spain. The competition is fierce, so I need to stand out. Your task: identify three unique viral marketing strategies. The output should be a numbered list with one real-world example for each.

That level of detail gives you a more hyper-specific answer:

ChatGPT – Prompt – Marketing expert strategies

Step 4: Get Better Results With Frameworks

Frameworks help ChatGPT focus its thinking so its response becomes clearer and more organized.

So, instead of saying, “Give me an SEO strategy,” or “Give me content ideas,” specify a framework.

For example, in the Málaga tour guide prompt above, try using the STP framework (Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning).

You might say:

Act as a tourism marketing expert with 20 years of experience. Use the STP framework (Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning) to develop a unique marketing strategy for a tour guide in Málaga, Spain. Identify a specific segment of travelers, explain the best way to target them, and position the tour guide’s services for maximum appeal.

Much. Better. Answer.

ChatGPT – Prompt – Marketing expert + STP framework strategies

But what if you don’t know any frameworks?

No problem.

Just ask ChatGPT.

All you have to do is choose the best one.

Step 5: Refine ChatGPT’s Responses with Follow-Ups

ChatGPT’s first answer isn’t always the best, especially for complex topics.

How do you improve it?

Keep asking questions.

Here’s what I mean.

Imagine you’re a social media manager launching a smart water bottle that reminds users to drink.

Your first prompt might be:

Give me a list of interactive social media campaign ideas. Context: We’re launching a new product: a smart water bottle that reminds users to drink. You’re a social media strategist with 10 years of experience.

ChatGPT gives you a list:

ChatGPT – Prompt – Interactive social media campaign ideas

It’s a good start.

But it’s not enough to have a clear launch strategy.

So, you dig deeper.

If the reply is too generic, ask for more details.
If the answer is too theoretical, ask for clear, actionable steps.

Or you can focus on one thing in the list.

Keep refining your questions until you have everything you need.

By doing this, ChatGPT becomes more of a collaborative partner.

And you get a final output that’s a blend of AI and your knowledge and topical expertise.

Why not add everything in one big prompt?

You could.

But it’s not always the best approach.

Yes, some prompts are simple enough that they don’t need iterative refining.

But for complex ideas, refining step by step gives you more control over the output.

Personal insight: When conversations with ChatGPT get longer, it can go into a rabbit hole and lose track of the original task. When this happens, I bring it back with a prompt like:

“Go back to the original task. Do you remember it?”

If the response shows that it has forgotten some details from the original prompt, remind it explicitly:

“We were working on [ORIGINAL TASK]. Pick up from where we left off.”

This helps bring the conversation back to the task you set out to do.

Fun Ways to Use ChatGPT for Life and Work

One of the most powerful things about ChatGPT?

It can take on different roles.

It can be your personal assistant, researcher, strategist, problem-solver, and more.

ChatGPT as 24-7 Personal Assistant

ChatGPT can be your assistant for work and daily life.

Need help with life planning, SEO, or optimizing your habits?

Done.

For example, you can use it to review legal documents.

Upload a PDF, like a client agreement, and ask it to explain the legal jargon. Or point out unfair clauses.

ChatGPT – Personal assistant – Document review

It’s great for mundane tasks, too. Like cleaning up video transcripts.

Paste (or upload) the transcript.

And ask ChatGPT to organize it better.

ChatGPT – Prompt – Transcript clean up request

Saves you so much time.

Personal insight: I recently used ChatGPT to help me organize my Obsidian vault (Obsidian is a personal knowledge management tool.)

I wanted a clean, scalable folder structure that matched my use case.

So, off to ChatGPT I went and wrote this prompt:

Create a folder structure for Obsidian that helps organize personal insights, research, and notes. The folder structure should make finding and linking notes easy while keeping things simple and scalable. Strictly limit to five main folders. Make sure it’s organized so it’s easy to expand over time. Your output should be in a clear, hierarchical bullet format.

ChatGPT – Prompt – Creating folder structure

This response gave me a solid starting point to structure my folders.

It also saved me time by giving me a clear framework to customize instead of figuring it all out from scratch.

ChatGPT as Your Analyst

ChatGPT is also great for processing and analyzing data.

A few things it can do:

Clean up raw data
Identify patterns
Extract insights

Side note: Data analysis works best with the paid plan. The free version may not always deliver the same level of detail.

Here’s a great example of how you can use its data analysis capabilities for digital marketing.

Let’s say you run an online store.

You want to analyze your competitor’s Google Shopping Ads using the Product Listing Ads (PLAs) data you got from Semrush.

Do this:

Upload the data to ChatGPT and use this prompt:

Analyze this Product Listing Ad (PLA) data for BestBuy.com from Semrush. Give me the top five takeaways that will help me. Show your work.

Just like that, ChatGPT will identify patterns and trends from the Semrush data:

Expert tip: Want to double-check the analysis? Add “Show your work” to your prompt. This tells ChatGPT to explain its thought process so you can verify and refine the answer.

ChatGPT as a Thought Partner

ChatGPT is great for learning and skill development.

For example, you can use it as a conversation partner when learning a new language.

You can also use ChatGPT to stress-test your thinking.

It can challenge your assumptions and poke holes in your reasoning.

I even use it to analyze my content outlines for writing projects.

Fun fact: Being nice to ChatGPT can lead to better responses. Research shows that using polite, supportive prompts leads to better answers.

Don’t Stop at ChatGPT. Build Your AI Toolkit.

You’re speaking ChatGPT like a native now.

You’ve gone from curious to confident.

Keep using it, the better you’ll get.

But here’s the thing:

ChatGPT isn’t the only AI tool you should master.

Other generative AI platforms excel at different tasks.

Some crush internet research and exploration. And others are great for chatting with real-life characters.

Check which AI tool matches your exact needs in our no-fluff guide to ChatGPT alternatives.

The post How to Use ChatGPT to Get 10X Better Answers appeared first on Backlinko.

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